Inferring Main ideas Directions: Read each paragraph. Then select the letter of the main idea implied in the paragraph.
Everyone knows stress has a negative effect on the body. It weakens the immune system and increases the chances of infection and disease. However, an experiment by two scientists at Rockefeller University in New York challenges that traditional wisdom. According to Firdaus S.Dhabhar and Dr.Bruce McEwen, mild forms of stress can act like a call to arms. If, for example, a person has to give a speech or meet a deadline, the body calls up immune cells from the bloodstream and sends them to battle stations throughout the body, thereby increasing rather than diminishing immunity. It may be that the immune system is weakened only when stress is long-term, severe and out of one's control. Mild stress might have an entirely different effect on the body.
Implied Main Idea

Question

Inferring Main ideas    Directions:  Read each paragraph. Then select the letter of the main idea implied in the paragraph.
Everyone knows stress has a negative effect on the body. It weakens the immune system and increases the chances of infection and disease. However, an experiment by two scientists at Rockefeller University in New York challenges that traditional wisdom. According to Firdaus S.Dhabhar and Dr.Bruce McEwen, mild forms of stress can act like a call to arms. If, for example, a person has to give a speech or meet a deadline, the body calls up immune cells from the bloodstream and sends them to battle stations throughout the body, thereby increasing rather than diminishing immunity. It may be that the immune system is weakened only when stress is long-term, severe and out of one's control. Mild stress might have an entirely different effect on the body.
Implied Main Idea

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

The paragraph discusses a new experiment that challenges the idea that all stress weakens the immune system. Instead, the experiment suggests that mild forms of stress might actually strengthen the immune system by calling up immune cells and preparing the body for battle. Therefore, the implied main idea is that mild forms of stress may strengthen rather than weaken the body's immune system.

Inferring Main Ideas Directions: Read Each Paragraph